Whether it is a leather or rubber strap, or the steel Milanese bracelet, all the “attachment” option for the Uniform Wares C41 Chronograph are really comfortable and attractive. Let’s be honest that Milanese-style bracelets aren’t for everyone, and they certainly aren’t for every watch. On the Uniform Wares C41 Chronograph, it looks interesting, but don’t feel bad for preferring a strap. My biggest issue, honestly, with most watches that have Milanese straps is that I don’t like the gap between the case and bracelet, given how most of them attach.
I didn’t test out all of the strap options, but I’d like to give high praise to the super high-quality rubber strap option for the Uniform Wares C41 Chronograph. Combine the “nitrile rubber” strap with the C41/SGR-01 white dial and black bezel watch, and you have a timepiece which is both sporty and elegant at the very same time.
People in the design field such as architects, industrial designers, and more are going to be among those people who are naturally inclined to enjoy the “deconstructed yet complete” look of Uniform Wares watches. It’s really a watch by designers for designers, where detailing and “statement” is much more important than how the watches fit into a larger branding or marketing strategy. Uniform Wares has proven really successful on the fashion scene as well, and I think they helped start the popularity of really clean dials for much cheaper fashion watches.
In a sense, I would call Uniform Wares a fashion watch brand. They aren’t about being trendy and I afford them a lot of respect for what they do, but their focus on quartz movements is going to appeal to a more aesthetically-minded demographic versus hardcore watch lovers. Furthermore, in a time of smartwatches, I am pretty sure that more and more traditional watch lovers will only buy electronic watches with either digital screens or that are full-on connected smartwatches. The world of analog watches with quartz movements might suffer even more with the enthusiast crowd. Then again, that audience might be a loud voice, but it does not represent the majority of watch consumers.
I say all this because while I like the Uniform Wares C41 Chronograph watches a lot, I too am left feeling that these have a super design, but really wishing they were mechanical. The sad thing is that I am pretty sure if they did go mechanical, Uniform Wares wouldn’t just increase the price by a few hundred dollars to take into consideration the more expensive movements, but would likely double, triple, or further multiply the price of the watches, as most of their competitors do. There just doesn’t seem to be getting around the fact that watches seem to mostly be quite pricey.
However, I will take this opportunity to one more time state that, while Uniform Wares watches are not cheap, there aren’t 1-to-1 alternatives which are the same for less money – at least none that I know of. That is just a reminder (and sometimes a brutal one) that minor refinements and attention to details in watches can sometimes account for a lot of the premium price. At least with a Uniform Wares watch, I can safely say that you aren’t paying for the name. The Uniform Wares C41 Chronograph watches range in price from $1,200 – $1,570. uniformwares.com
Necessary Data
>Brand: Uniform Wares
>Model: C41
>Price: $1,200 – $1,570
>Size: 41
>Would reviewer personally wear it: Yes.
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Design lover or designer looking for a timepiece who makes their passion/career very clear to the world.
>Best characteristic of watch: Attractive, legible, and very comfortable for a daily wear.
>Worst characteristic of watch: Expensive price for a quartz movement-based timepiece.
